Why Video Must Be Part of Your Marketing Plan
A core part of my management philosophy, both personally and for the loan officers on my team, is lifelong learning. We can’t be the best at our jobs if we don’t keep up with new tools and techniques. To that end, I took a marketing workshop recently on the power of using video in our outreach efforts. It was very interesting.
Much of the material covered was pretty commonly known, but I did get a few nuggets of information that were worthy of bringing back to my team. Perhaps the most compelling was the new research showing how effective video can be in the sales process.
The tools worth using
People who are paying attention will see new tools becoming available all the time. Many will prove to be important and remain, while others will exhibit weaknesses and will eventually be rejected. But none of that will take away from the trusted tools we’re using today.
So, even though I walked away with a new commitment to put more video into my marketing mix, I will continue to use the tools and techniques that have been successful up until now. This means, I’ll stay involved in my community, continue to attend open houses and loan closings and make the most of my CRM and automated marketing.
Social media will also remain a key component of my marketing strategy, but this is where video really shines. By putting some motion into their social media strategy, any loan officer can compete with the big online lenders and real estate companies that usually get all of the attention.
We know that 97% of home buyers will shop online first when they enter the market for a new home. Most of those will immediately be targeted by very large firms, like Zillow, Rocket and LoanDepot. If a loan officer not affiliated with one of the giant firms isn’t doing something to get attention, they’ll miss out before they ever know the prospect is in the buy zone.
When it comes to getting attention, nothing beats video.
Putting some motion into your marketing
My team already knows the value of social media marketing. We employ a full time video producer and social media director to help everyone stay active in the space. But LOs need to be the subject of some of those videos if they really want to be successful.
Talking directly to your prospects and giving them information that is truly valuable to them during the homebuying and financing process is a great way to build trust. That’s something the giant firms aren’t spending much time on, and aren’t likely to. For them, it’s a numbers game.
For the individual loan officer, it’s always about becoming a trusted advisor in their local community. Video makes that easier.
By creating and sharing video on social networks, it’s automatically formatted for mobile, where more than half (51%) of all videos are currently viewed. That’s good news, because surveys show that 92% of mobile video consumers will share videos with their social network if it adds value to them.
If your lender is not supporting your efforts to get more video into your marketing, maybe you should be working with us. Reach out to me to discuss it.
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